
The dead of Fróðá
The Fróðá episode of Eyrbyggja saga is the nearest thing in medieval literature to a zombie outbreak. One death leads to another, the dead return in growing numbers and they occupy the farmhouse, crowding out the living. The solution is distinctively Icelandic: the revenants are prosecuted under common law at the door of the house, accept the verdict and walk out, after which a priest purifies the building. It combines epidemic logic with a legal system that even the dead obey.12
- a formal lawsuit at the door of the house, sentencing each revenant to leave
- holy water and Christian rites
Ɛberɛ bɛn na ɛdii kan puee?
Eyrbyggja saga, written in the mid- or late 13th century
Deɛ fibea no ka
Wobɛtumi atu mmirika aboro no?
Ahoɔhare kuo a efi sɛnea fibea kyerɛkyerɛ mu (ɛtwetwe ne nan), ɛnyɛ susudua.
Fibea
Asɛm biara a ɛwɔ krataafa yi so fi saa fibea yi mu, na yɛde yɛn ankasa nsɛm na akyerɛw. Wohunuu mfomsoɔ bi? Ka kyerɛ yɛn wɔ [email protected].